The "Ripples"(1987) by Neil Dawson was commissioned in for
the opening of the Waikato Museum building in Grantham Street. It is a
suspended sculpture, comprised of a 6 metre span of carbon fibre reinforced
polyester resin, which represents the ripple effects of a falling stone hitting
the water. It hangs between the canopy of trees, approximately 20 metres in the
air, above the Waikato Museum riverbank. It is built in the terms of an public
art.
His work can be
talked about in the context of “tromp l’oeil”, which was recognized from
the Baroque period, from the French words it means "deceive the eye",
which is an art technique using realistic imagery to create the optical
illusion that the depicted objects exist in three dimensions. Forced
perspective is a comparable illusion in architecture. In this
case, Dawson tries to do the opposite that is to make a three-dimensional sculpture
look as a two dimensions image.
This connects to
the issue of flatness, typically associated with teleological readings of
modernist painting. Some of the accounts of postmodernism, such as Frederic Jameson (1987) identified flatness
–the modernist trope par excellence – as postmodernism’s distinguishing
feature. In an effort to untangle this contradiction, a new genealogy of
flatness is proposed.
The work can
also be related to Clement Greenbergian’s (1955) modernism between optical
flatness and psychological depth. The psychological depth tied to optical
flatness in modern art is itself deflated, producing a marriage of optical and
psychological flatness. These transformations in the meaning surface and
superficiality are traced through the art of Jackson Pollock, Jasper Johns,
David Hammons and Kara Walker.
While the
texture of the sculpture are similar to the old-fashioned comic strip as
subject matter, just like it was drawn by magna paint,
which can be associated as Roy Lichtenstein’s pop art (1963-1966), which produces a
hard-edged, precise composition that documents while it parodies in a soft
manner.
Very interesting artwork! At first I did not recognize it was a sculpture until I read the text. It really surprised me.
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of this sculpture. According to the changes of the weather, we can have different images and backgrounds for the ripples lay on. But I am wondering why Dawson chose this location and sky as background instead of other places(for instance the ocean and other landscape)?
What is the meaning behind this public art? Is he trying to express or arouse anything?
And why ripples? What is so special about ripples that Dawson constructed a sculpture of it instead of other forms or shapes? Does it mean anything personal to him or reflect his feelings or emotions?
Thanks for sharing!
Nikita
At first glance, i have no idea of the work actually. Therefore, i am also surprised after reading your introduction. This sculpture is really cool!
ReplyDeleteHowever, I would like know more about the artist. For example, how did he make this sculpture? What were the texture of it? Also, you can focus more on the relation of the artwork and contemporary art as well.
Furthermore, it would be better if you can state that the reference. :)
Dear Nadia,
ReplyDeleteVery nice references. Make sure to connect them in a cohesive way to support your argument in the paper. It's very interesting to think of how we construct images from our perception and the tension between what we consider flat and 3 dimensional. We also have to realize that the experience of this work is drastically different when we see it in real life compared to seeing it on a computer screen. Why is it? What aspect of flatness enhances the experience of this work in real life, and why does it seem so normal when we see it as a photograph. It would also be good if you can find other images from different angles of the work that explains the illusionary trick. Also it would be important to specify more the location of the museum it was shown in.